Her Favorite Flower

Ethan was playing with his imaginary friend, Dr. Waffles. Together they were pretending to play soldiers. His friends were hiding about in the playground, armed with stones.

"Are you ready, Private Ethan?" asked Dr. Waffles, wearing what Ethan thought soldiers looked like.

"Let's do this, Waffles." Ethan got up and ran behind a tree. Two stones nearly hit him. "Missed me!"

A few more stones were launched about in every which way. No one would come out because they were too chicken to get hit, but Dr. Waffles actually went out there and didn't even get hit by one. Ethan laughed. Eventually, someone started waving a black plastic bag.

"Peace," said the person.

"Your supposed to have one that's white, dumbo."

Everyone came out and dropped their stones in a bit of relief. They didn't know what to do.

"Hey," said Joey. "You know what we should do? We should play cops and robbers. I call robber!"

"Me too!" yelled Ethan.

Everyone else chose their sides, and soon the kids scattered. Robbers were chased by cops, kids frolicked, and Ethan escaped their view. He was home free until he accidentally stepped on something. He stopped to see what he smashed and saw a squished up pink flower. A girl was sitting next to it disappointed.

"Hey!" she snapped. "You just killed my favorite flower. Now I'll never see it again. How would you like it if I ran over your flowers?"

"Who cares about a stupid flower?"

The girl looked angry.

"I think she's mad," said Dr. Waffles.

She got up, went towards Ethan, and pushed him on the dirt.

"Don't ever step on my flower again," she said before stomping away.

"Wow," Ethan was scared and amazed at the same time. "I... I..."

"Like her," finished Dr. Waffles.


*


Ethan entered his dad's car after school. Dr. Waffles was in the back sniffing.

"He's drinking his juice again," whispered the doctor.

Ethan's dad always liked to drink juice that smelled funny. It made him happy, or at least that's what he said. Ethan's dad was always mad at something or tired. He never wore anything other than his dirty shirt and jeans.

"Hey dad," said Ethan.

Ethan's dad just looked mad and drove off. Everything was quiet in the car. Dr. Waffles tapped Ethan's shoulder.

"Tell him about your test."

"Dad," said Ethan. "I got a hundred percent in Math today."

His dad said nothing.

"I kicked a ball in PE."

Still no answer. Ethan could never get his dad's attention unless he did something wrong. There were so many questions Ethan wanted to ask, but the only person he thought who had any answer never talked to him.

"Dad... do girls like flowers?"

For a few seconds, Ethan's dad said nothing, but then he asked,

"What?"

"I said, do girls like flowers?"

"Hell, I don't know. Maybe." He scratched his nose a little. "Why you askin me this?"

"I saw one today. She got mad and pushed me."

Dad laughed at him. "I guess some of 'em don't like flowers. It's better to give 'em nothin."

"No, I didn't give her a flower. I stepped on one. By accident."

"And she pushed you? For a flower?"

"That's some flower," said Dr. Waffles.

"But why does she hate me?" asked Ethan.

"Look kid," said Ethan's dad. "You ain't supposed to care about what some girl thinks about you. Just let it be and move on. You don't like her, she don't like you, and nothin ever happens."

Ethan thought about this.

"And what if you see her again?" asked Waffles.

"What will make her leave me alone. You know, like not talk to me. Ever."

Ethan's dad chuckled. "Give her all your love. Trust me, she'll take  it all and run off on you. That's what happened with your mo-" Ethan's dad coughed a bit. "You know, it's better not to talk about this." They pulled up at Ethan's aunt's house. "Okay kid, I got things to do. Stay here with Patricia, be nice, and all that stuff."

Ethan frowned. He felt frustrated now that he had to work on giving a girl love. He didn't even like girls. Ethan got out of the car and saw it drive off. That was the only time dad ever helped.

"How do you give a girl love?" asked Waffles wearing a cowboy outfit.

"I don't know," answered Ethan as he walked passed the fence and to the door. "I don't even know what love is."

"Maybe it's a cake."

"I don't even know where to get one of those either." Ethan knocked on the door. After a while, his aunt opened the door.

"Ethan?" questioned Patricia. "What're you doing here, sweety? Dan didn't tell me you were coming." The phone suddenly rang inside. "That must be the good-for-nothing. Please, come in." Aunt Patricia went to answer the phone. "Oh Ethan, we're about to have spaghetti. Go upstairs and wash your hands so you can eat."

Ethan put down his back pack and climbed up the stairs.

"Love?" he asked himself.

"Love," repeated Waffles. "Cake."

When Ethan got to the top of the stairs, he heard someone talking in a room where the door almost seemed closed. He went to go and see who it was. Through a peek, Ethan saw it was his older cousin, Bernard. It's actually been a long time since Ethan has ever seen Bernard. Bernard would usually be in Hus room reading or writing something. He also liked throwing paper in the trash in an angry way. He even threw one right now. It however, missed and went to the door. Bernard saw this and found Ethan.

"Who's there?" asked Bernard.

"Cousin Ethan."

"Oh... uh... yeah, your Dan's kid, right? Well, what do you want?"

Ethan just stood there staring at Bernard.

"Okay then,. Leave me alone." Bernard went back to writing. He continuously clicked and dragged his pencil before glancing back at Ethan. "Seriously, what do you want?"

"What are you writing?

Bernard ignored the question and went back to writing. He continued to do so until he finally gave in and invited Ethan in.

"So what are you writing?"

"A book. Something kids don't read these days."

"Is it about love?"

"In truth... yes."

Ethan looked at the scribbles Bernard had on his paper. "I don't know what love is."

"You and me both. I've been trying to write like I actually knew anything about the subject. I just met this publicist last month and he tells me that I have to submit at least three stories with three different genres just to spark my career. I already wrote a decent science fiction novel, and one reflecting the life of a dog. If I don't pull this love story through I'll never make it in this business."

Ethan was confused.

"Sorry... I don't usually talk to kids like I do adults." Bernard sat back down.

"Do you... know what love is?"

Bernard looked at him then answered, "Love is the basic emotion of caring in an unrelenting bond towards someone or something."

"What?"

"He might be telling us the recipe for cake," said Dr. Waffles.

"Love," continued Bernard. "Love is a feeling. A feeling of being cared for, and caring about so someone. Thinking about them, liking them, never really hating them. Love is like a stomach full of butterflies, or so I'm told."

"Ewww," said Waffles. "Who wants to eat butterflies?"

"Does it taste good?" asked Ethan.

"What?" responded Bernard. "No, I don't really mean butterflies in your stomach. I don't know, you just feel... weird. Love is weird."

"Weird?" Ethan thought about this. "But how do you give love?"

"Giving love? Well... uh... I think that begins with simple contact and simple words."

"Words? What words?"


*


At school, Ethan walked passed Joey.

"Hey, Ethan!" called Joey.

Ethan didn't respond. He felt compelled, in a sense. He kept walking to the place where he accidentally stepped on the flower and looked around. His heart was pounding, his ears were deafening, and his breathing was increasing. At last, he found her. The same girl who pushed him down for a flower. He approached her with mild fear. As she stood there turned around, interacting with a ladybug, Ethan tapped her on the shoulder. Then, just as she turned around, Ethan said...

"I like you."

At that moment, neither of them said a word. Ethan was still focused on what he said and if he said it right. It felt like ages as they stood there staring at each other. Finally, the bell rang.

"I'm Ethan. What's your name."

"E- Eli," she said still stunned. "I... I..."


*


After school, Bernard was waiting at the front.

"Where's dad?" asked Dr. Waffles.

"I don't know." Ethan walked to Bernard.

"Hey," he said. "Your dad had some 'errands' so my mom made me come over and take to my house."

"Is my dad in trouble?"

"No, he's just in a place where they teach people not to drink and drive."

"You think we should tell him?" asked the doctor.

"I did it," announced Ethan.

"Did what exactly?" questioned Bernard.

"I told her. I said that I liked her."

"Wait a minute, we weren't talking about a hypothetical girl yesterday?"

"What's that?"

"That's not the point. You mean you actually went up to girl, looked her straight in the eye, and said you liked her?"

"Yeah."

"Well... does she like you back? Did she give you any sign that she was interested in you?"

"I don't know."

"Did she even say anything?"

"Uh... no. But she did tell me her name. It's Eli."

"Wow. You really care about this girl, don't you?"

"No."

"What!?" Bernard looked shocked.

"I only said it so she didn't like me. I don't want to talk to me again. Or push me again. I just want her to leave me alone."

"And the strategy you took was showing affection. Well that's a bit odd, don't you think?"

"Are you gonna keep helping me?"

"With what? Having a girl avoid you by being her soul mate? Well actually, that doesn't sound like a bad story. I could write off of this. Okay I'll help. But isn't she already trying to avoid. I mean, the way you described it sounded like you scared her off."

Ethan smiled. "Then it worked."

"Hi Ethan," said a voice.

Ethan turned around and saw that it was Eli.

"I... I was thinking about what you said and I... I wanted to say... I sort of... like you too."

"Well that didn't go as planned," whispered Bernard.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Eli started walking when she suddenly turned back and gave Ethan a small hug. Then she left.

"You, my friend, have a 'problem'."

"Uh oh," said Waffles.

Ethan couldn't believe what just happened. Bernard helped him by grabbing his hand and leading him back to Aunt Patricia's house. They walked and walked, but Ethan still couldn't come to terms with what occurred. He was scared out of his mind. The girl who pushed him because of a small flower just said she like him. This was a pretty serious situation.

They made it back to house.

"There they are," said Patricia. "Hope you like roast beef, Ethan. I'm going crazy with all these flavors." Patricia looked closely at Ethan's face. "What's wrong, sweety?"

"He's feeling a little off," said Bernard. "It's a guy thing. I'll take up to my room and fix him up for dinner."

"Okay. Feel better, Ethan."

Bernard took Ethan up the stairs and into his room. He sat Ethan down on the bed and began writing at his desk.

"How?" asked Ethan. "What happened?"

"You made her care about you, because she thought you cared about her."

"But I didn't want her to."

"That's not exactly how love works. I'm sorry, Ethan, but she's hooked. And unfortunately, you'all be hooked as well."

"What!?!? I'm going to love her too?!?!"

"Well in basic form, you'll probably just develop a few feelings of admiration and shy puppy love. You won't exactly love her until you... kiss."

"Kiss!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Yuck!!!"

"Oh come on. Kissing isn't that bad."

"I don't want to kiss her. I want to stay away from her."

"Like I said, love doesn't work like that. Why don't you just say it was a big misunderstanding."

"No. I'm scared she might do more than push me this time."

"That's true. Violence tends to emerge in these situations. Wait, have you ever heard the saying, 'what ever got you in this mess will get you out'?"

"No."

"Well, it means that whatever you did wrong could make things right again. It's sort of like stealing. If you steal something from someone, that person might hate you for it. But if you return what you stole, that person might forgive you."

"Oh, I get it. But what do I do?"


*


Back at school, Ethan did the same thing and went straight to the place where he stepped on the flower. It was actually there where he found Eli. She was digging through the dirt. She stopped when she noticed Ethan.

"Oh, hi Ethan," Deli said quickly getting up.

"Uh... hi Eli." Ethan looked down at the dirt.

"Oh, I'm sorry for pushing you the other day. I just... really liked that flower. But it's nothing now. Sorry."

Ethan took Eli's hand and placed something small in it.

"A pebble?" she asked.

"No, it's a flower."

"Uh, Ethan, I don't think that's a flower. It looks more like a small rock."

"No... uh... I heard that if you put it in the ground and give it water, it grows into a pink and pretty flower."

"You gave me a seed?"

"Yeah. Later it'll be your favorite flower. Do you like it." Please say no, thought Ethan.

"I... I..." Eli went close.

Ethan closed his eyes and waited to be pushed. The anticipation was killing him. His every nerve waited to be disrupted by the impact of the floor. The alarm in Ethan's head grew more and more with every pulse in his heart.

But suddenly... he felt something soft press against his lips. He immediately opened his eyes to find Eli's face so close. His head was spinning, his heart beating fast, his vision was getting blurred, he couldn't breath, and finally... Ethan collapsed.


*


Ethan awoke to a light shining in his eyes. The nurse was there saying something.

"Can you here me? Little boy, can you here me?"

"Am I dead?" asked Ethan.

"No, your in the nurse's office." The nurse went and let Aunt Patricia and Bernard in.

"Oh thank god," said Patricia. "I thought something bad happened to you, sweety." She gave Ethan a big hug. "We're gonna go straight home so you can get better. I better get you stuff from your class. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay sweety? Bernard, take care of little Ethan, okay?"

"Yeah mom," said Ethan.

She soon left.

"Well. This experience was surely interesting. What happened?"

"I don't know!" yelled Ethan in panic. "I went to her! She said she was sorry! I gave her the thingy! And then she...!"

"She what? Ethan, what did she do?"

"She... she... k-kissed... me."

Bernard listened to this and paused a moment.

"What do I do!?!"

"First... how do you feel?"

"Uh... scared!"

"Anything else?"

"I feel... uh... I feel... I feel like I don't know what I'm doing!"

"You feel confused." Bernard took out a notebook and wrote in it. "Ethan, I'm sorry, but being scared and confused after a kiss usually means one thing."

"What!?! What is it!?!?"

"I think you might be... in love."

"In love?!?!"

"Now just calm down. It's not as bad as you think."

"You said I'm a hook when she kisses me."

"Well sometimes I'm wrong... and other times I'm right. But look, I think the best way to approach this is by telling her you don't feel the same way about her as she does about you."

"But I can't!"

"Why not?"

"I... I don't know!"

"Oh... that's a problem."

"What?!?"

"Well, it seems now that you have feeling for her, you won't be able to tell Eli that you don't like her so easily."

"Why?!?!"

"Because you do like her. You love her."

"I don't want to love her!" Ethan cried. "I just stepped on a stupid flower."

"Irony, isn't it? Too bad it doesn't work twice."

"Wait, that's it! I stomp on her flower again."

"Whoa, slow down, Ethan. You can't just get a girl to like you and then break her heart out of nowhere."

"I'm not gonna stomp on her heart. Just her flower."

"Well, you can't really stomp on her flower. Right now it's just a seed. You'll actually have to wait until that flower blooms."

"How long is that?"

"It's the beginning of June, and summers coming up. I'm thinking you have up to the end of July. But even then, with all that time together, you'll still find it hard to make such a cruel decision. Just hope that you don't love her then, because if you do, you'll feel absolutely terrible."


*